


we'll build with it

by automatronic



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, FatT Rarepair Swap, Other, Spoilers for Miracle of the Mirage: The Dragon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 00:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14842388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/automatronic/pseuds/automatronic
Summary: “It’s not right.”“We could make it better.”Grand Magnificent and Independence escape, together.





	we'll build with it

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shadaras](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadaras/gifts).



> This is a very optimistic take on this AU, but I think TM is a setting that warrants optimism. User awindingstair was my lovely beta reader.

_ “It’s not right.” _

_ “We could make it better.” _

 

A part of him had expected Even to shoot as soon as he accepted Independence’s offer. But there had been no bullets. There had been  _ nothing _ as he climbed into the cockpit, making room for himself amongst the wreckage and ruin. 

It felt for a moment like Volition itself was warping time, leaving a long moment where nobody acted. 

He locked eyes with Even, and the moment came to an end. 

By the time Even had readied himself to shoot, they were gone, escaping the strange grasps of Chthonian and the volatile surface. Leaving Signet and Belgarde behind, leaving Even behind, leaving the Mirage behind them. 

Now they’re free, both of them. Unobstructed.  _ Independent. _ And they have the whole world in front of them.

 

They get supplies from the Independents, oh-so-grateful to aid their god reborn. Independence needs repairs, and Grand Magnificent cannot survive on rhetoric and art alone. The irony isn’t lost on him. They don’t even really get any time alone; everyone is flitting about, trying to ask the Divine and their candidate–the first Candidate in several  _ millennia– _ what they should do next. Grand isn’t used to the way people expect leadership out of him, and can’t help but balk when asked what their plan of attack should be. 

Independence finally demands to be left alone, and the Independents, still unsure about what the being they resurrected might  _ do _ , obey without question. 

It’s in an empty hangar that Grand is finally able to take stock of everything that has happened. Of what standing by his art actually  _ means _ . He looks up at the mech, cockpit cleaned out but still showing obvious disrepair. It only takes a moment for him to decide to focus on the material first; his creation is in  _ ruin _ .

“I don’t know how I’m gonna fix you,” is what he finally manages to say. They don’t have access to the right materials and equipment, not right now. And in this state, they lack the firepower to  _ seize _ what they need as well.

“You will do it, Grand Magnificent,” responds Independence, soft yet overwhelming, unyieldingly confident. It gives Grand something to hold onto, that they are so sure while he has never been more uncertain of his own actions in his life. “You will create something beautiful.” Independence is giving him full control over the design. 

He remembers what they said to him, on Volition.  _ We could make it better _ . And he  _ can _ . There’s no replacing the glass frame, not with what they have right now. Even then, there would be no way of hiding the fact that severe damage had been dealt. So they  _ won’t _ .

Grand begins to draft designs, sketching with light in the air. Something that will show everyone how someone (his friends, he tries to avoid thinking) tried to kill Independence. He’s going to create something that shows everyone how that  _ failed _ . 

The ruined glass will be replaced with armor, dark and opaque, he decides. Independence will no longer exist as a reflection of others. They will define themself.

Independence watches as he works, occasionally asking questions, but mostly content to observe his process. This is something he’s comfortable with; everything else can fade away as he focuses on creating something  _ wonderful. _

 

Somehow, finishing the repairs goes smoothly. Grand had thought that people would be coming after them. He’s been too busy overseeing the reconstruction of his Divine to pay attention to  _ why _ . It’s strange, tuning into the newsfeeds to find out that the Divine Fleet now has a much bigger threat to worry about. With Independence in much better shape, there’s buzzing around their small coalition that they should  _ do _ something. 

They’re preparing for an address right now. They don’t have the technology to broadcast to the whole fleet instantaneously, but that doesn’t erase the power that a statement can have. Grand can’t help but pace, adjusting his flight suit once more. It’s too tight around his waist.

“Calm down, Grand Magnificent,” Independence reassures him. He’s  _ trying _ to be calm, but he doesn’t have the natural air of authority and calm that Excerpts are supposed to have. That candidates are supposed to have. He pauses.

“What should I call myself?” 

Independence seems  _ confused _ by this, almost. The new cyberware he’s gotten to help him pilot, to bring them closer, makes that much clear. 

“I mean,” he clarifies, “am I supposed to change my name?”

He can swear he feels them  _ smile _ at that. “No,” they don’t give him time to ask for an explanation, “I have learnt so much of you from your work, from how you built this form. I will not change any of that.”

Grand Magnificent lets out a sigh of relief that he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He’s worked hard to cultivate his identity, to figure out who he is and how to present that. ‘Grand Magnificent’ was a statement he wanted to stand behind. In the back of his mind, he’d been afraid of having to give that up. Independence reassures him, not with words, but with raw  _ feeling  _ sent through their new link. 

When they give the address, they give it it  _ together _ . It’s like–he’s presenting something at a gallery. And what they’re doing  _ is _ art, really. Defending the Fleet, preserving its independence from the Hegemony. It’s a  _ statement, _ like nothing else. 

Despite all of his initial hesitation, Grand Magnificent has always been comfortable making statements. 

It’s clear that the Divine Fleet isn’t ready for this decision. When the time comes to fight back the NEH, everyone regards them warily, like they expect them to turn at any minute. They aren’t entirely  _ wrong _ to be suspicious; this alliance is temporary and tenuous at best. But that doesn’t make it hurt less when he sees Echo Reverie glaring him down yet refusing to acknowledge him at the same time. 

“They will understand, in time,.” Independence says to him. “They will see how we can build–how  _ you _ have built me anew–and they will understand. They will bear witness to our  _ masterpieces _ .”

And after the battle, after the dust settles and Quire enacts their Miracle,  _ he _ understands. The world in ahead of them is full of something new, something never seen before. A new challenge. A new canvas. Together, they might not have the power to reshape it to their will alone. But they can make it better.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on twitter @absolutelybees
> 
> EDIT: So they mostly use they/them or "it" for Independence in the show proper, as well as in C/W, but the episode descriptions that mention Independence use he/him, and I only recently remembered this. I considered switching the pronouns, but I think it's more appropriate to go with what was in the show itself, and I think that the inconsistency can be explained in-universe by the fact that time is long and immortal robot gods can use new pronouns if they want to.


End file.
